The Sound of Death
by demiurgic
Summary: Read the story. It's good. It's twisted. Chapter 5 is up! I wrote all of them in a row, then submitted them all together, now you have something to read, finally! Yay!
1. The Arrival

This one has a twist just like all the others. Maybe you'll suspect it, maybe you won't.

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Hinata squinted her eyes and peeked around her. The branch to her left had cracked and the leaves were moving.

_Wind?_

_No. Unnatural movement. The wind isn't even moving._

She closed her eyes. Probably Kiba and Akamaru training around her again. Maybe Shino. They liked staying near her just in case someone to sneaked up upon her while she was meditating.

_Snap._

Hinata jumped up. That was closer. If it was Kiba and Akamaru, she would've been able to hear them.

_Byakugan._

Two faint Chakras appeared within her vision. Hardly.

One was… red? The other was a normal light silvery-blue. The red one was shorter than the normal.

Hinata jumped to a tree. She couldn't see Kiba nor Shino anywhere nearby. She quietly jumped from tree to tree. Soon she was above them.

She saw two familiar faces that she wasn't expecting. _Sasuke… and… and… Kabuto? Didn't he die?_

"It's too bad," Sasuke said as Kabuto walked beside him. They were headed towards the gate of Konoha. "It's really too bad. I don't feel like having to do such a thing."

"Having to do what, exactly?" Kabuto asked.

"Well, first, killing the person following us," Sasuke laughed. Hinata gasped. "I want to see your face, girl, as I'm destroying your soul."

Hinata jumped to the ground.

"Hyuuga, Hinata," Sasuke said as he turned around. "Long time no see."

"What are you doing? Everyone thinks you're in the Village Hidden in the Sound," Hinata growled.

"Oh, I was, but my mission was to come back to my sweet home town," Sasuke said, glaring coldly at Hinata. "Come here."

Hinata didn't move.

"You won't come closer to me, so I'll come closer to," In a flash, Sasuke was upon Hinata. "You."

Hinata hardly had time to scream, let alone anything else, as the cold steel of his kunai slashed her throat in one smooth motion.

"That was a little harsh, don't you think?" Kabuto asked lightly, as though nthing had happened.

"I don't need anyone to know of my arrival," Sasuke put his kunai away, before flicking his hair away from his shiny Sound hitai-ate. "Yet."

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So? How's the beginning?

Review!


	2. Still, Silent, Summer Day

Aww, poor Hinata.

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Sakura opened her eyes. The sky was cloudless and blue. There was a drought, and Sakura and Ino were both taking advantage of it.

Sakura could feel the persperation on her skin evaporating as soon as it was created. It was making her sticky and gross. "Ino," Sakura asked. Her mouth was dry. "Do you want to go in?"

"No," Ino muttered. "You can if you want."

"Okay," Sakura shrugged. "I'll be upstairs when you come in then."

"Yep," Was her answer.

Sakura stood up, stretched, and walked into her (cold) house. She walked up the stairs to her bathroom, preparing to have a nice shower before getting ready for her and Ino's double date. She wasn't looking forwards to going to the movies with Shikamaru, but Ino convinced her and she gave in eventually.

Ino was going with Neji, and Tenten wasn't happy about that. Nothing was going to happen, though… she hoped.

Sakura took off her clothes, and as she was waiting for the shower to warm up, she looked into the mirror at her reflecting naked self. She had so many scars from previous battles. She ran her hand along the cut on her stomach. Sasuke had saved her. If he hadn't, she would have been torn in half. It was most definitely fortuitous.

Naruto had jumped on her, and accidentally pushed her over a cliff while trying to protect her from an enormous explosion at a mine. Naruto had sliced his back open from that, but no one would be able to tell, thanks to the fox's Chakra. She, unfortunately, now had a long, thin scar on her arm from the damn rocks. Both she had healed herself, but even though Chakra can close the skin and stop internal and external bleeding, it doesn't remove scars if used roughly.

The mirror started to fog up, and Sakura climbed into the shower. She felt dead. She had for a long time. The sun didn't seem to touch and warm her skin, the wind didn't go through her hair like it used to. She didn't hate her life, and she wasn't sick, but, something was wrong at this time.

Often she felt like this, but this was longer than it ever was. Maybe it was because she was locked up in her house so much? She got enough exercise and enough of her social life as well as 'her alone time.' She led quite a normal life.

The warmth of the shower hardly reached her. It felt good, but she stayed cold.

She closed her eyes and she lathered up her hair with expensive shampoo that Ino **insisted** Sakura buy. It smelled like an old lady who didn't know the difference between too much, and just the right amount of perfume.

Sakura got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body and hair. She stretched. Her back was out of wack again. She'd have to get Naruto to help her crack it.

Sakura walked into her room. She forgot to draw the curtains, so her room was dark. Something moved and she switched on the light. Nothing was there.

"It's a little messy in here," Sakura said to herself. "Guess I'll do that when I get back."

She reached into her closet. "Ahh," Sakura rolled her eyes. She walked out into the hall and yelled out, "Ino? Where'd you put my clothes?"

She heard no answer.

_It's been half an hour at least. Ino should be in now,_ Sakura rolled her eyes again. _She probably fell asleep._

She walked out onto the patio and saw Ino's arm hanging over the edge of her chair. _She did. The idiot. She's going to sunburned._

"Ino," Sakura said. "Come on, time for you to get up and go have a shower."

Ino didn't move.

"You have got to be kidding me. You can't be that fast asleep, you've only got an hour to get ready, and I know for a certain fact that that's not enough for you to even do your hair," Sakura walked over to Ino's chair and looked down at Ino.

Her heart skipped, making her stomach clench tight.

Sakura was frozen. Time was holding everything captive. The wind stopped blowing. Everything was still and silent.

Ino's eyes were open; a blank expression covered her face. Sakura looked down slowly, as though time were holding her and keeping her from moving as well. Her throat was slit in a perfect line.

Sakura breathed in. Her heart started again, and, instead of breathing out, she let out a terrible, loud, ear-piercing scream. She fell backwards onto the hard concrete, her head bouncing off it. The pain didn't affect her. She crawled backwards and slowly stood up, staring at Ino the whole time.

Sakura ran into her house. She knew what she had to do, but it didn't seem real. Ino was a makeup artist. But, it wasn't April, and Ino wasn't _that_ sick. There's no way… She was just faking, though… Sakura was asleep…

Sakura picked up the phone, and instantly dialled Naruto's number. She didn't do this fast. _Ha ha, Ino, very funny._

_She'll probably just walked through the door right now and laugh at me… I fell for it like a child…_

_Ha ha, Ino._

"Hello?" Naruto's voice came over the phone. Sakura blinked slowly. "Hello?"

In Sakura's mind, she was telling Naruto, screaming, yelling, sobbing. But she just stood still, and slowly the phone fell from her hand, and smashed on the floor, breaking in half, the wires and electrical stuff spilling onto the floor.

Sakura leaned onto the kitchen island. In her mind, something was stuck. _Maybe I'll make something to eat before we go… That way we won't be making Neji and Shikamaru spend all their money on us._

Sakura reached for the fridge, not feeling it. She took out ingredients to make something. She started the stove and put some stuff in a pan. She didn't know what she was making, but for some reason, making something to eat for the both of them made sense.

Sakura turned around at the sound of screeching brakes. Running, yelling, the doorbell. The door opening.

"Sakura!" Naruto's voice came from around the corner. "Sakura! SAKURA!"

Sakura walked to him calmly. He sighed as soon as he saw her. "Are you okay? You called (I saw on the id) and then you weren't talking… I heard a smash… I thought something happened! I came right over. Are you okay? What happened? Are you okay?"

Sakura looked up into Naruto's face and opened her mouth. Nothing came out.

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "What happened?"

Sakura pointed towards the phone on the floor.

"Why did you smash your phone?" Naruto asked walking towards it. "What happened?"

"I… Na… Naruto…" She forced out.

"What?" Naruto said, walking towards her. "Sakura! Tell me what's wrong?"

Sakura just looked past him, out the window, towards the chair.

Naruto turned around, and looked where she was looking. Blood was dripping off the bottom of the chair, making a puddle on the ground. Blood slowly ran down the hand hanging over it too, making a separate puddle. Naruto turned back towards Sakura and stared at her.

"You didn't…" He started.

"I… the… shower… I came out… and… she wasn't… so I… I went to her…" Sakura breathed in deep. "I found her… lying… throat… her throat… cut… She… She's dead… NARUTO! INO'S DEAD!"

Naruto stopped breathing.

Sakura dropped to her knees. It was as though saying it made it true. Naruto ran out of the house, towards Ino and fell to his knees as well. Sakura cried, cried as hard as she could, against the floor. The towel on her head fell off.

She barely heard Naruto come in, turn on his cell phone, and call the police.

"…There's someone dead here… No… No we don't know…"

He came over to Sakura and started talking to her. None of it made any sense. She didn't care what Naruto was saying at the moment.

He helped her stand up, and led her towards the stairs. He sat her down, and sat beside her, holding his head in his hands. Sakura looked at Naruto, and saw tears running and dripping off his face. Sakura breathed in, hiccupping and hugged him.

As soon as they heard the police siren in the distance, the sleeve and front of Naruto's shirt was soaking wet. Naruto wiped his eyes and walked to the door. Sakura just sat in the same spot, and didn't think, didn't breath, just… stayed.

The police came in, looked at Ino (the body), asked Naruto questions, asked Sakura questions, made a few calls, and went back out to "the body."

More people arrived, and finally, took Ino out on a stretcher. She was covered with a long, white sheet.

A man came to Sakura, and crouched in front of her. "Haruno, Sakura?" He asked gently.

She nodded while wiping away tears. The stinging in her throat burned. She couldn't imagine what it felt like for… her…

"I know that this is an inappropriate time to tell you, but we have to leave. Would you like to know how… Yamanaka, Ino… passed away?"

"I… No… No details…" Sakura sobbed, trying to breath in without hiccupping. "Who… Who did it?"

"We don't know," The man said, looking down. "All I found out was that her spine in her neck was severed by something."

Sakura covered her ears and closed her eyes. "No… no… nonononono…"

She heard a muffled "I'm sorry," and he stood up and left.

Naruto walked to Sakura and helped her stand up again. They slowly walked up the stairs, and walked into her bedroom. "They'll call us," Naruto muttered. He helped Sakura lay on her bed, and he sat on a chair, keeping watch over Sakura.

Sakura closed her eyes. She shivered.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked as Sakura stood up. With her back to Naruto, she slipped her underwear on. She slipped a t-shirt over her head and laid back down on the bed.

She peeked from under her sheets at Naruto and watched him glare out the window (he had opened the curtains), glare at his hands, the floor…

"Naruto," Sakura whispered.

"Yeah?" He asked, turning towards her.

"Come lay with me," She whispered. "I need the comfort."

Naruto stood up, and carefully laid beside Sakura. He hugged her close to his body. She cried softly onto the front of his shirt.

The phone rang.

Sakura and Naruto ignored it.

It stopped. Then rang again. Then again, and again, until finally, Naruto reached over and answered it.

"Hello?" He said. "Hey Neji… Oh…"

_He's probably mad that we're not there… we're… she… she can't…_

"WHAT?" Naruto yelled. "You're… What happened?"

Sakura couldn't hear what Neji was saying, but she could hear screaming and yelling coming from the phone.

The screaming and crying cut from the phone, and Naruto hung up.

His eyes were wide when he turned towards Sakura.

"Neji said… A man was walking through the east forest… He found Hinata… Same thing as Ino, I guess…" Naruto stared down. Then he angrily burst out, "How many other people are going to die today?"

"Naruto…" Sakura stood up.

"Sakura, look…" He pulled out a little purple box and opened it up. A small gold ring with a little diamond gleamed up at Sakura. Sakura gasped. "I was going to ask her tonight… Sakura, I was going to marry Hinata, and now she's dead!"

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Who cried?

Was it good?

Review!


	3. Lost and Found

Sakura and Naruto spent the next two days in her house, awaiting a phone call from someone. Anyone.

The phone didn't ring once.

On the end of the second day, Naruto went up to Sakura's bed and laid down. They would have slept in separate beds, but having some sort of contact with one another seemed to take some pain away. It helped a little.

"Sakura, are you coming up?" Naruto called from up the stairs.

"Ah, not yet I think, I'm just going to clean here some more," Sakura called back. She looked at the mess in the living room, and sighed. She didn't know what to do with herself now. Was this the way she was going to live, here on in?

"Okay," Naruto replied.

Sakura sat on the couch, and looked at the multicoloured string of her carpet. She felt a sting in her throat as she looked over at the windows leading to her deck. She quickly looked away, sick of crying. _No, don't think about that_. Her eyes were so dry, the stung each time she closed them.

She turned her head away and looked over at the opposite couch, covered in magazines and dirty laundry. Before she knew it, her eyes were filled with tears and she was crying silently on the couch. She tried to keep quiet, but after a while, breathing became a problem, and she was gasping for air. She covered her face with her hands, and bent double over, leaning on her knees.

She sobbed, and hiccupped. Breathing in deep, she stood up, and turned around once her crying died down a little. Naruto was standing there. His bright blue eyes were red rimmed. She gasped and looked away. "I… I um, got something in my eye…" She walked past him, heading for the bathroom.

"Sakura…" Naruto said as she rushed past him. "Sakura, wait…"

Sakura closed the door on Naruto's face. He heard her sob, and hit the mirror, or the counter.

"Sakura… Please, open the door…" Naruto leaned against it, putting his head on his raised arm. "C'mon… I know you were crying… I don't know what you feel so ashamed about…"

The door clicked, and Naruto stood straight.

It opened, and Sakura stood, with tears running down her face. "I don't feel ashamed…" Sakura looked down, wiping her tears from her face roughly. "I just don't want to cry anymore…"

"I feel the same," Naruto hugged Sakura tightly.

"Oh…" Sakura sighed into Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto… _why…_"

"Why what?" He asked. Her hair was tickling his nose.

"Just…" Sakura mumbled.

They stayed like that, swaying on the spot, quietly crying in each other's arms, clinging to each other like if they let go, they'd fall apart.

"Should we go to bed?" Naruto mumbled.

"Mmhmm…" Sakura mumbled. She was getting tired. Or maybe it was just her eyes. They were so itchy. She wanted to rub them until they stopped hurting, or maybe the pain went away.

Naruto put Sakura's arm over his shoulder, and he put his other arm under her knees, sweeping her off her feet. "What're you doing?" Sakura mumbled sleepily, her eyes closed.

"Shh," Naruto hushed. "Just sleep."

"Mmm…" Sakura brought her arm down off his shoulder, and placed it on her other one, tilting her head to the side, towards Naruto's chest. He looked down at her as he walked up the stairs.

He placed her on the bed gently. This was the first time she had actually fallen asleep within the last two days. He knew, because it was the same with him. He could feel her shaking the bed with her sobs every night, and he could feel her restlessness.

_Oh, Sakura…_

"Sakura…" Naruto said quietly. She was still in her jeans and shoes. She hummed quietly. Naruto shrugged and lifted her back gently as he undid her blouse. Her jean came next, then her shoes. _Should I?_ He questioned himself, looking at her bra. _She shouldn't sleep in it…_ Closing his eyes, he took her pajama shirt in one hand and the hook of her bra in the other (he was quite skilled when it came to undoing bras with one hand… Hinata taught him, _shyly_…)

Once he felt the bra unhook, he squinted down slightly to see only what he needed to. Making sure the bra wouldn't suddenly fall off, He put the pajama shirt under Sakura, and then he closed his eyes again.

Finally, he successfully took her bra off and put her pajama shirt on. He gave up on putting bottoms on. It was a hot summer night anyways. She'd be more than happy to wake up in panties than hot, thick pajama bottoms.

He had seen Sakura naked before, accidentally, of course. It was at a bathhouse somewhere in the tea country. He had looked over the wall (they were the only ones staying there… on a mission to find Sasuke…) and started to ask Sakura where they were going to go next. He was in swimming trunks, but Sakura… Oh boy, was he in trouble later.

He smiled, and laid beside her.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he heard Sakura mutter, "Oh…ne…kiha...denu…"

Naruto looked over at Sakura questioningly. "Sakura?" He asked.

Something was glowing at the far side of the room. Naruto put his arms in front of Sakura to get a better look at what it was. Something tingled on the back of his neck, and he ducked just as a kunai flew at his face.

"Just as sharp as ever, Uzumaki," A smooth familiar voice hissed. "Too bad, I would have liked to see that kunai go through that stupid face of yours…_dobe…_"

Naruto growled. "Uchiha… Sasuke…" He stood up, and turned on the bedside light. Sasuke came into full view. His new outfit was appealing (to a girl, of course). He had a loose black shirt on, and the front was open. His jeans were ripped, and his shoes looked completely dead.

"What're you doing here?" Naruto growled.

Sakura moaned from behind him and sat up. "What's goin'on?" She gasped and squeaked when she saw Sasuke. "Sa… Sasuke… kun…"

"Hey, babe," Sasuke sneered. "I'm here for her, Uzumaki. I need her for some entertainment. I don't understand why you two came looking for me, even though you knew, one day, I'd be back."

"We were trying to _save_ you, you asshole," Naruto spat.

"Mm, not too friendly then," Sasuke laughed.

A scream came from behind Naruto, and as soon as he span around, he saw a hard metal ball come from nowhere and smash him in the head. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

"Now, Sakura," Sasuke laughed gently as he looked at the boy on the floor. His head was bleeding, but it wasn't fatal. "I'm going to give you a choice. You can either come with me, or," He laughed gently again. "You can end up looking like him."

Sakura looked down at Naruto over the edge of the bed. She leaned down, and touched the wound. She looked at her hand, now covered in Naruto's blood. She slowly looked up at Sasuke, her hair partly covering her face.

"Sasuke," She growled. "Why the hell did you do that? You know that Naruto's fox is completely sealed away. That's foul play."

"Who ever said I was nice?" Sasuke laughed.

"You stupid _fucker_," She hissed. "Get out! Get the hell out of my fucking house! **Now!**"

"Don't talk to Or-Sasuke like that," A voice said from the shadows. "We are not leaving until we have you."

Sakura looked to the right. Kabuto was standing there. "I thought you died," Sakura growled.

"You thought wrong," Kabuto chuckled darkly. "Shall we, Sasuke-sama?"

"Don't call me that," Sasuke laughed. He walked over to Sakura, and kneeled down in front of her. "I'm not Sasuke, dearest one."

"Well, then, who the hell are you?" Sakura spat.

He pushed the hair off her face gently. As quick as lightening, he grabbed Sakura's neck, and squeezed the pressure points. Before she blacked out, he whispered, "Sasuke's dead, now. I'm Orochimaru."


	4. Hidden Cave

Sakura woke up, and the first thing she saw was bright blond hair, even in the dark it was bright. She was lying on her side. Her brain told her not to move. She didn't want to know if anything was broken.

She moved anyways, sitting up slowly. She noticed her legs were bare, and the only thing she had on was her pajama shirt and panties. _Naruto_… She thought. _I remember now._ She woke up as he was taking her shirt off. She panicked at first, but opened her eyes a little and noticed Naruto's eyes were closed.

Sakura looked around, taking note of her headache. She looked at the walls, and noticed that they looked like a cave's walls. The floor was smooth, though. A cage like door blocked Sakura from a very inviting fire. She was slightly cold, and the shadows weren't helping much.

She heard footsteps, and she quickly laid back down, trying to go into the same position she woke up in.

"They're still asleep," A deep voice said quietly. Sakura didn't recognize the voice, but she knew if she was awake, something would happen, and it wouldn't be all sunshine and daisies.

She snuck a glance towards the barred doors, and saw no one standing there. But she could sense someone standing just beyond her vision.

A small groan came from the form beside her, and she quickly covered Naruto's mouth. To make sure he didn't panic, she put her leg on his and her cheek on his head.

Naruto didn't move, recognizing it was Sakura. She uncovered his mouth and pointed towards the door. Naruto nodded, looking up at Sakura. She put her finger to her lips.

"What are we going to do with them?" The deep voice growled from around the corner. Sakura laid back, and Naruto copied her.

A second voice, a little bit more feminine this time, replied, "Let's kill 'em."

"We can't," The first voice reminded the second. "Orochimaru-sama would kill us for sure."

"Bu' I hate doin' guard duty," The second voice whined.

"So do I," The first one sighed.

The voices stopped after that.

Sakura sat up, and Naruto grabbed her wrist, shaking his head. Sakura nodded, putting her finger to her lips again.

She snuck over to the cage door, and peeked out. She saw two people sitting at a table. They were both wearing ridiculously large bows around their middles, and they were both facing away from the door. Sakura gestured for Naruto to come over.

He stood up, and walked up behind Sakura, looking over her.

She backed up into him. She pointed towards the wall.

He looked over. There, a hole large enough for Sakura's slim frame to fit through, but it was too small for Naruto. He gestured to himself questioningly.

Sakura thought for a minute. Her hand suddenly glowed bright green, and she smiled evilly. The pale glow of the Chakra shone upwards, casting shadows over her, making her look entirely insane.

Naruto pointed to his ears. Sakura shook her head. _Don't worry, it won't make any noise._

She snuck over to the hole, watching the people at the table carefully the whole time. Gently, she stuck her hand in between the wall and the metal cage, and brushed her hand against them both, in a circular motion.

Slowly, the metal heated up, and soon began to stretch with her touch. One person at the table moved slightly, and she quickly withdrew her hand, backing up.

Naruto gave her the thumbs up sign, and helped her to her feet. He helped her through the hole, and quickly squeezed through. It was just big enough that there wasn't a struggle getting through.

Sakura and Naruto both put their backs against he wall, and edged towards their left, where they both noticed a crevice.

Inside, it was pitch black, and didn't seem to end. Sakura kept going, but she could tell Naruto wanted to stop. She stopped suddenly, and Naruto ran into her. They were still in the creeping position against the wall, and Naruto whispered hoarsely, "Sakura, what if Orochimaru is beyond this? This could be a trap. Think about it…"

"Naruto," She turned her head to look at him. It didn't work very well, because all she could see was his silhouette. "I _have_ thought this through. I'd rather be _running_ from Orochimaru, than being _trapped_, and at his _complete mercy_. He might _look_ like Sasuke, but hell, he _isn't_, and I'm getting out of here. Now, the _real_ question is: _are you coming?_"

"Of… Of course," Naruto stuttered.

They started moving again, and soon, the fissure opened up a little more. Sakura and Naruto started walking normal. The dark was so thick, it almost seemed to hold their breath.

Sakura ran into something hard. A long pole was in front if her. She felt it, then reached over to the right. Another one was parallel to the first. There was a third, and a fourth, and so on and so on. Sakura squeezed past the wall and bars, and felt something huge dig into her thigh.

She reached back, and gasped when she felt someone standing behind her.

"It's okay, it's just me," Naruto said.

"Sorry," Sakura whispered.

"What did you find?" Naruto asked. He reached past her, and grasped the large metallic object hanging from the bars.

"I think it's a lock," Sakura said. Dim, pale green glowed once more, and Sakura took the lock in her hands, and several minutes later, it was nothing more than a twisted metal blob on the floor.

Sakura grasped the metal pole, and opened it until it hit the wall. Naruto hesitated, but followed her anyways.

"Who's there?" Snapped a harsh voice. Sakura gasped, and backed up instinctively into Naruto.

A candle lit up, and Naruto and Sakura bothered closed their eyes at the sudden change in light. Sakura squinted against the light, trying to look past it.

Sakura could see raven locks, and a loose shirt that couldn't hide the muscles underneath. Black eyes shone from under the mess of hair, and pale skin almost looked white with the flame shining beside him.

Even though he had aged, Sakura still recognized her former team mate, as though it hadn't been all those years apart.

"Sasuke!" Sakura almost shouted out. "Sasuke! You're alive it! I knew it!"

"Who…" The man said quietly. "Sa-Sakura? And… Naruto?"

Sakura nodded happily, and Sasuke looked at Naruto. "You've grown. You're not as short as you used to be."

Naruto grumbled something. Sasuke looked back at Sakura. "You shouldn't have come here. He'll kill you."

"We were kidnapped and brought here," Sakura said. She fell to her knees in front of Sasuke, and looked him up and down. He hadn't shaved in quite a while, and his clothes were torn, but he seemed to be in good shape, physically and mentally. "We escaped and fate brought us here…" She reached out, and swept some stray hairs from Sasuke's eyes, and he shuddered at the contact.

"I… I haven't…" Sasuke started. He closed his eyes as soon as Sakura touched his neck, and slowly brushed her hand over his arm. "Forgotten…"

"Forgotten what?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Forgotten…" Sasuke opened his eyes again. "I haven't forgotten how much I hurt you two. I'm truly sorry. I wanted to say that so bad."

"Oh," Sakura said, tears welling up in her eyes. Her hand dropped to her side. "It's okay. Really."

Sasuke grabbed her hand, and held it against her face. "You need to get out of here," He said suddenly. "_He'll_ come, and then you two will die…"

"But… But, Sasuke…" Sakura whispered. "We're not going leave without you…"

"You must!" Sasuke hissed. "I can't leave. At least if you two leave, you can get protection, hide… If I leave, he'll definitely find me… Then we'll all die… I'd rather die to save you than see you two dead…"

"Well, we'll get you out of here," Naruto said seriously. He put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, not forgetting how he left. "I promise."

Sasuke nodded, at the same time a voice said, "Leave? Oh, how funny are you?"

"Orochimaru," Sasuke growled. Sakura and Naruto spun around.

"Ah, I wasn't expecting this," Orochimaru said. He was still in Sasuke's form, and he had taken the shirt off. In comparison to the real Sasuke, Sakura noticed a definite difference. "So, what did you say about leaving?"


	5. Oh, Now Look, She’s Dead

"Yeah, we were just planning on leaving, and taking Sasuke with us, if you didn't mind," Naruto said bravely.

"Oh, no you're not," Orochimaru laughed.

"And what thinks you can stop us?" Sakura asked, standing up to stand beside Naruto. Sasuke slowly stood up beside Naruto as well, using him as support. "Three against one, kinda unfair, don't you think?"

Orochimaru laughed. "Yes, Sakura-sama, it does seem a little unfair," He licked his lips with his overly long tongue. "That's why I brought help."

Torches lit up around them, all in a circle. At least half a dozen. Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto stood, back to back. A simple, yet effective, ninja formation.

(A/N: Has anyone noticed how half a dozen sounds like it's more than 6? Ha ha…)

"I'll be supervising," Orochimaru laughed dryly. "Two for each of you. Really, I'm spoiling you. Go ahead, boys, get 'em."

Sakura shoved her hand into her leg pouch to withdraw shuriken, but found her pouch not there. Naruto made a noise, and Sakura guessed it was the same situation with him.

"Uh, Sakura," He whispered over his shoulder to her. "I kinda don't have…"

"Me either," Sakura whispered back.

"Are you looking for these?" Orochimaru laughed. In his hand were two sturdy little pouches, their ribbons torn. "Oh, whoops, must have slipped my mind. Oh well," He smiled sadistically, and stuck out his tongue, wrapping it around the two pouches, and swallowing them quickly.

"No!" Sakura screamed. "Dammit! Naruto, we're screwed."

"What are you two, wimps?" Sasuke growled. "What about TaiJutsu?"

"Sasuke," Naruto snarled. "I couldn't even beat you in my full Kyuubi form. And you were in full, whatever the hell it was, form, and there are a hole bunch of people just like _that_ surrounding us. If Kyuubi can't beat that, I dunno what will. At least our weapons would have given us some sort of assurance, even a little, at least…"

"Well, at least _try…_" Sasuke insisted.

"And what are you going to do, Princess?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke's voice went low, and a smile formed in his words as he said, "I may not be in the best shape because of that monster, but I'll take him out, with everything I've got…"

Sakura reached out as one thug ran at her, arms raised. She grabbed one of his legs and his arm, and flipped him easy, but another was right after him, and she ducked as he jumped at her. He rammed into Naruto, and he kicked backwards to send the thug flying towards the wall. He hit it with a disgusting crunch.

Sasuke dodged several hands that made a grab for him as he ran towards Orochimaru.

Naruto grabbed Sakura firmly around the waist and went Matrix style as he swung her in a circle, and she ran along in the air, kicking all the heads presented to her.

"Thanks," Sakura said as she landed, kicking one stubborn thug to the ground one more.

"I should be…" Naruto grunted as he was knocked to the ground, but he jumped to his feet almost instantly, giving the illusion that he was on a trampoline. He made seals so fast that it wasn't visible to the naked eye. Blue Chakra quickly forced the man to fall to his stomach, bound by the natural ropes made by the roots that Naruto summoned from the ground. "Thanking you," He finished once he was done.

Sasuke yelled out as Orochimaru's tongue transformed into a snake, and bit him 2, 3, 4, 5, dozens, and dozens of times. Sasuke couldn't dodge, no matter what he did. Naruto, hearing the yells, reached into the struggling man's pouch, and pulled out several shuriken. He threw them with pin-point accuracy between Sasuke and Orochimaru, just barely nicking the snake, but giving Sasuke enough time to get away.

"Thanks for that," Sasuke said.

"No…" Naruto backwards-punched an oncoming guy in the head. "Problem."

All 6 of Orochimaru's thugs were lying on the floor, groaning, and some unconscious. Sakura was injecting them all with her special Jutsu Chakra, making them all paralyzed.

"Well done," Orochimaru laughed. His mouth was bleeding from Naruto's shuriken, and he smiled at the fact. He wiped up the blood on the back of his hand, and licked it, slowly, while looking at Sakura.

She looked alarmed at the gesture. She screamed when someone grabbed her from behind.

Naruto turned around to try and help her, but found he couldn't move. His hand out-stretched towards Sakura, and one leg in front of the other, he had no balance. He fell to the floor, hard, and Sakura screamed his name. His face was turned towards hers, and he was watching her. Sakura could see the flames fill his eyes as he fought to be free.

Sasuke dropped to his knees beside Naruto and checked his vital signs, thinking him dead.

"You bastard," Sasuke growled. "How could you? Don't touch my friends ever again…"

"Oh, Sasuke," Orochimaru touched the top of his head, and he became frozen like Naruto. "You're one to talk. Didn't you say that you thought you had killed Naruto just to come to me?"

Sasuke's mind filled with rage as hewatched Orochimaru walk slowly towards Sakura.

"Mmm," Orochimaru hummed, taking Sakura's chin in his palm. "How _delicious_…"

Sakura noticed that it wasn't someone holding her; it was roots. The rough bark was digging into her skin. They were pinning her arms to her side, and holding her legs together. They were even holding her head straight. She tried to struggle, but the more she struggled, the tighter they got.

"Nar…" Sakura gasped. The roots squeezed her torso so hard that she felt something crack. Instant, excruciating pain followed, but Sakura concentrated her Chakra to the broken ribs. They wouldn't heal, no matter how hard she tried. The roots must have been squeezing so hard that her Chakra couldn't find a place to connect the bone back together.

Orochimaru's tongue flicked out to touch Sakura's neck. It moved up, slowly, onto her face. She looked disgusted, but knew she couldn't move, lest she be broken in half. She closed her eyes, but opened them once more when the roots tightened a little more.

He moved closer to her. His tongue made contact with her lips, and tried to pry them apart. Sakura tried keeping them sealed as tight as she could, but her mouth popped open in a silent scream as a loud _CRACK_ filled the air. He arm had broken, and the bone was now sticking from her flesh…

Orochimaru's tongue went into her mouth, and his lips made contact with hers. He forced her into a cruel kiss of pain, and she gagged as his tongue crept towards the back of her mouth. It slithered down her throat, feeling like a soft, slimy snake. Sakura started choking. Orocimaru parted their lips, leaving his tongue in her throat, and moved back for Naruto and Sasuke to watch. Sakura's eyes rolled back into her head, and they closed. Her body noticeably slumped, even in her position.

Orochimaru removed his tongue, and laughed. "Oh, now look, she's dead."

Indeed, Sakura's skin was slowly turning blue with the lack of oxygen.

Sasuke growled. Naruto grunted as he fought against the Chakra paralyzing his body.

"Aw," Orochimaru said softly. "Too bad you boys were bad. I think maybe you'll end up like her. Or worse."

The thugs stood up as soon as Orochimaru raised his hand. They laughed maliciously. One grabbed Sasuke by the hair, and dragged him backwards. Another thug (with the help of one other) picked up Naruto fully off the ground.

Sasuke could feel black seeping into his vision. He blacked out half a second before Naruto did.


End file.
